HUMAN rights activists said fear and mistrust of the government have made it hard for authorities to receive data on undocumented migrants.

They said refugees and asylum seekers regularly found themselves being victimised and faced arbitrary detentions, arrests, and deportations.

The activists raised these concerns when Putrajaya sought assistance from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to acquire data on undocumented migrants in the country. 

Beyond Borders Malaysia founder Mahi Ramakrishnan said if the government was serious about empowering refugees, it must impose a moratorium on immigration raids. 

“It should then allow the UNHCR to have access to immigration detention centres to determine and register refugees who are currently under detention. 

“Without any of these initiatives, I am unsure how to read the government’s intention to request data from the UN body,” she told The Malaysian Insight.

Last month, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said Malaysia had sought the cooperation of the UNHCR in sharing data on undocumented migrants in order to provide them with employment, education, and proper healthcare.

He said this was in line with the decision of Malaysia’s National Security Council to seek a comprehensive solution to the problem of refugees. 

Saifuddin said his ministry only registered 40,000 individuals while UNHCR’s record showed 190,000 people.

Mahi said for undocumented migrants to trust the authorities, the government needed to show its intentions were genuine like being serious about providing them with jobs, access to structured education, and affordable healthcare. 

“In order to do that, it must first come up with a legal framework, even if it has not ratified the 1951 UN Refugee Convention. 

“In fact, we already have an existing legal framework, which is the IMM13 under the Immigration Act. 

“The Home Minister just has to sign on the dotted line to enable refugees to work. This can then be expanded to include healthcare and education,” she said.

IMM13 holders are allowed to stay in the country and receive other benefits, including medical services and access to education.

Mahi also said the previous administration, with Hamzah Zainudin as then-home minister, had introduced the Tracking Refugees Information System (TRIS) and made it mandatory for all refugees to register.

This, she said, enabled the government to know the whereabouts of refugees and to determine whether they were here for employment or were fleeing persecution. 

“Refugees and civil society organisations were concerned with this measure as it could be a ruse to gather data that would make immigration raids much easier. 

“Following this, there were threats from the government and particularly the National Security Council to shut down the UNHCR,” she said.

She added that the present government had announced earlier this year that it would start registering refugees.

“And now Saifuddin says they need data from the UNHCR. This is clearly because the government could not register beyond 40,000 persons. I wonder how that registration was conducted in the first place?”

Overcoming the trust deficit

Mahi also said Refugee Status Determination (RSD) was not an easy process. 

“It is based on the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, which the government has not ratified. 

“So, what would it have used as a basis to determine if those seeking asylum are refugees? The government has also not indicated it would abide by the non-refoulement principle, which is the cornerstone of refugee protection,” she said.

She pointed out that the authorities had pushed back Rohingya boats in the past.

She also said Saifuddin had recently admitted that some children from Myanmar and Syria in “child-friendly centres” would be deported. 

“This would be a violation of the non-refoulement principle that is binding on Malaysia as a customary international law even if it has yet to ratify the refugee convention. 

“So, the idea of registering refugees is ludicrous in the first place. It should be left to the UNHCR, which has a mandate to register and protect refugees.”

Meanwhile, Refuge for the Refugees founder Heidy Quah said the government had failed to grasp how fearful of the authorities the refugees were.

This fear, she said, stemmed from years of mass arrests, detentions, and deportations.

“Undocumented migrants are not willing to register with the Home Ministry because of fear of the authorities. 

“Over the years, undocumented migrants and refugees were arrested while walking back from work, or even at the hospitals. 

“Trust hasn’t been built over the years with the refugee community to assure them that they are safe, and the government is on their side.”

She also said migrants were concerned about the safety of sharing personal information in exchange for essential human rights like job opportunities, healthcare, and education, fearing they would be caught during registration.

“To address this issue, the government should take steps to establish trust with the refugee community.

“They ought to issue a statement guaranteeing amnesty for undocumented migrants who come forward to register, assuring them their data won’t be misused for tracking or would lead to arrests.

“Collaborating with trusted civil society groups already connected and working closely with refugees is a good first step,” she said. – October 2, 2023.